Missing Piece
by OnceQwerty
Summary: Gale is missing, so Katniss goes out to find him. She's hurt in the process and causes Peeta to come to the realization of his baseless fear.


"Now, I definitely can't let you go." The words were said with a smile, an attempt to undercut the memory of the last time he'd uttered something like that to her. The smile, however, was belied by the look in his eyes. He was serious.

"I have to go. I know his movements; how he thinks. I may be his best chance of making it out alive." Katniss' eyes pleaded with Peeta. She needed him to understand.

"Stay. Please." On those words, she was back in the cave, the arena. There was so much fear and worry. He almost hadn't made it. She hadn't truly known at the time why it would have mattered so much, but she did now. Peeta was her sun, the one that lit her path in darkness. But Gale needed her and she needed to try.

"I can't leave him alone out there. I couldn't live with it if I didn't try to help." Her own eyes begged Peeta to accept why she needed to go.

With a sigh, he fingered the braid lying over her shoulder. "Ok, but only if you promise to contact me every night. I can't sleep wondering what's happening."

"I will." She kissed him; a deep, strong melding of mouths that left them both a bit winded when they parted. "Take care of Haymitch. I'll see you soon."

* * *

She hadn't been on a train in a few years. The whirring was familiar, but unpleasant. It was expected to take a day to get to the last spot where Gale had been seen. That meant a night in the train car. The idea was one which she sought desperately to avoid. Instead, she stared at maps of the area and listened to the last recordings from Gale's audio over and over.

Gale had been working in District 2 after everything had settled down. She didn't know the full extent of the job, but it involved the military and likely built upon his creativity with devices and strategy. It was while he was out in some form of training exercise that he went missing.

The audio from his last transmission was garbled. It cut in and out, leaving only the words "injured," "river," and "need back-". Presumably, the last portion was intended to say, "need back up." The District sent out a party, but no one was able to find Gale. Because of the nature of the transmission, it was believed that Gale had been attacked by something or someone. The head of the District had contacted Katniss after the second night. Although they had trackers, they thought she may have a better shot at finding him, if he were still alive.

Katniss and Peeta had been taking shifts with Haymitch. He'd been sick and not eating well. It wasn't clear exactly what was wrong with him, but it was clear he couldn't be left alone. That meant it could only be one of them who went. Given her history, the logical choice was Katniss.

Lost in her own musings, Katniss noticed that the light shone at a different angle on her glass of water. The sun was beginning to set. The train car lit up in a bright, russet orange. Peeta. She had called him earlier to let him know the plan. She was expected to arrive just shy of noon. When she got there, gear would be prepared for her and she'd head out with two others to search. By that time, Gale would have been gone three days. The likelihood that she'd find him breathing was questionable, hence the decision to only designate two staff to assist. She'd rather they just gave her gear and let her go alone, but that wasn't going to happen. Internally acknowledging that her search would be better done on sleep, she climbed into the bed along the far side of the train car.

* * *

Screams echoed through the night – Rue's, Prim's, her mother's, Gale's, Peeta's. Running through the forest, Katniss was panting, searching for the sources. Running, always running. The jabberjays then began to swoop down, each calling out the painful cry of a loved one.

Katniss woke up screaming, heart pounding. Without thinking, she put the call through.

Peeta had not been long for bed when the phone rang. He fumbled and dropped it in trying to answer, peering at the time in the process. He'd gone to bed about an hour ago. Bleary eyed and confused, he answered: "Hello?"

"Pee-ta", she hiccupped. And he knew.

Wide awake and aching to help her, he whispered, "Katniss. I'm here. I love you. It's over." She hadn't been able to get anything other than his name out, instead crying into the line. It tore at him. He couldn't hold her, couldn't banish the dreams so that she could sleep. So, he talked. They stayed on the line for hours, him telling her about Haymitch's mood swings, a new recipe he was considering, how the flowers at the edge of the village were blooming. When he ran out of day to day things to say, he told her about them – what he hoped for the future, how they would face it together. Over the course of the call, her breathing slowed.

"I'm not good at saying something." He smiled. She was reminding him of that moment in the cave, too.

"Then come here," he said. "Please, lay down and listen to me breathe." All talk suspended, they stayed on the phone all night listening to the sounds of each other's breath. Peeta woke first and called into the line, "Katniss?"

She sighed his name, "Peeta. I need to get ready. I start out in a few hours."

"Come back safe and call me tonight."

She hung up the line and took a deep breath. It hadn't been an easy night. The train car had likely sparked the nightmare. It wasn't a stretch to think the search for Gale, in a forest with an unknown attacker, wouldn't do the same. "Just going to have to find him right away, then," she muttered under her breath as she got ready for the day.

* * *

Well, this was just perfect. He had been out testing a new device meant to assist in search and rescue when his small crew had been attacked. He hadn't seen the assailants, because he'd been at the front of the line. He'd seen the effects of their work, however. With each of the three men he'd come out with dead, he'd taken off for the District proper. In the process, his communication device had been destroyed and he'd fallen in a crag at the base of a rocky outcrop. His leg was broken, and he was in hiding. That the device he had been intent on testing – and that had been with one of his men – would have helped the District to locate him was not lost on him.

Gale shifted his leg. Once he'd gotten clear of the threat, he'd used a few branches and some rope to create a splint. He'd also passed out. He wasn't sure how long he'd been out, but it must have been at least several hours. He didn't have any weapons for hunting, but he'd had enough rope that he was able to undo it and create a few snares with long strands. He hadn't gone hungry and he was close to the river, so he wouldn't go thirsty, either.

He had to stay by the river. His last communication to the District had been to tell them he'd be by it. With his leg in the shape it was, staying close to a potential rescue spot was necessary. Now, however, he was starting to reconsider that plan. What was taking them so long, and why weren't they flying overhead as part of the search? Shaking his head in disgust for his situation and the failure of his own rescue, he tried to map out a plan for getting back to the District.

* * *

The air was fresh. She could hear the chirping of the birds and the babble of water not far off. She'd arrived at the District just shy of the noon hour. Her "helpers" met her there. The two the leader of the District assigned had been less than enthused by the plan to go out for a dead man, as they made clear they thought Gale was. It had taken about an hour after arrival to get through all the channels to speak with the head of the search party.

Gale had gone out with three men to test a new device. During their trip, someone or something attacked them. The search party had not found any evidence of any of the men, save for tracks that stopped at a river. They had fanned out and searched for a day and a half to no avail. They'd used overhead searches at first, but found nothing. The head of the District had lost patience with the search party, cutting it off and calling her. She was the last ditch effort to track Gale. If she failed, they'd assume it had been an animal and move on.

Her helpers were not interested in continuing the search. After hearing the mutters back and forth between them for the half hour it took to get to the drop site, she'd had enough.

"You two are relieved. I'll handle this." The looks she got were of affronted surprise. Although they didn't want to go out into the forest, they also didn't want to be told not to. Too bad. She looked at one, and then the other. "Give me your communications device, and you, your water. I'll call in with progress reports."

They tried to argue. What if the Mockingjay got hurt? They'd never hear the end of it. The war may be over, but she was still a prize to the people.

"Enough. I'm going and I'm doing it alone."

* * *

Haymitch was beginning to come around, but wasn't quite all there. While Peeta didn't know the nature of the illness, it did seem to be easing. Of course, it would have done so sooner if the man would have allowed Peeta to get a healer to see him, but apparently that was too much to ask. Until Haymitch noticed Katniss wasn't coming around. The argument that ensued was loud and violent, with Haymitch throwing glasses around. He was less than impressed with Peeta 'allowing' Katniss to go; like anyone ever controlled her actions.

He was still with Haymitch when her call came through. "Hi, Peeta. I've started."

It was a relief to hear her voice. "What's the story?"

She told him everything, and the feeling in the pit of his stomach just kept getting worse with each word. The searchers had not found any of the gear from the four men. An animal wouldn't have taken the packs. Only a human would have. She was out in the middle of nowhere, without him or anyone else to help her, and there was an unknown attacker with her. He couldn't breathe. Haymitch had heard her info, his face becoming grim as she continued. When he saw the state that Peeta was in, he took over, saying, "Ok, darling. You know the drill here. It wasn't an animal. It was a man or men. Keep your eyes out. Listen. Be patient. We're coming to help."

She protested that it would be a waste; she'd have Gale back to the District in no time. Peeta could tell from her tone, however, that she wasn't certain. It was then that he snapped out of the fear that had kept him silent for the past few minutes.

"Katniss. I'm coming. You stay alive. Get to cover. We'll find Gale together." He could hear her begin to say, "Peeta, I lo-" when a swish cut through the line and she gasped. Then there was a hum of pain. "I'm hit."

"Katniss!" Haymitch and Peeta both yelled into the line, but there was no response.

* * *

It was a shoulder wound. It wasn't the worst she'd ever had, but it wasn't pleasant, either. She'd taken an arrow through the left side while she'd been talking to Peeta. God, Peeta. He'd be distraught right now.

She hadn't seen who took the shot, instead getting to cover among the rocks as quickly as possible. The sound of the river was muffling any footsteps that may be approaching. Whoever had shot her wasn't going to follow up in the noisy way the Careers had done back in the 74th.

In the process of getting to cover, she'd lost the communications device. It was likely lost to the river. She still had her pack, which had food, a canteen and some small knives. She'd brought her own bow and arrows, and so she wasn't defenseless. She was, however, in deep shit. The shoulder wound was going to make it near impossible for her to draw her bow properly. Whoever took the shot at her either was an excellent shot him or herself, or lucky as hell. Given Katniss' past experience, she wasn't going to count on her opponent merely being lucky.

Her vantage point was restricted. Although she was in a good position to take out anyone who tried to come in after her, she was also not in a good spot for moving around. She had to decide if she waited it out here, or if she tried to sneak out during the cover of darkness. Peeta would want her to stay. Haymitch would want her to move and gain the element of surprise on her attacker. She wasn't sure which voice in her head she was going to listen to just yet.

* * *

The train ride was the longest one he'd ever taken. Katniss was out there, wounded and possibly dead. He shook his head, he couldn't think about the possibilities. He had to focus on what he knew. When last heard from, she'd had a weapon, water and food. That's in better shape than they'd started in the Games, and she came out of those. He clung to that thought as the hours drug on slowly.

* * *

Alright. What the hell was going on? He could have sworn he heard voices not far off and then a scream this afternoon. It was difficult to walk, but he managed to find a thick enough branch to use as a crutch and had started toward the commotion. He didn't call out, however, as who knew whether he'd be facing his attacker or his rescuer if he did. Instead, he tread as quietly as his injured limb would allow, keeping to as much cover as possible.

Gale came upon the man in the early evening. He was dressed in camouflage and carrying a bow. He was also staring at the boulders along the river. From his stance, it was clear he was waiting for something, or someone, to come out. What wasn't clear was whether he was friend or foe. District 2 had recently had an influx of citizens. This man could be a part of a rescue team, waiting to shoot one of Gale's own attackers. He could also be said attacker. There was no good way to know, without knowing who (Gale was fairly sure it was a who, and not a what) the man was waiting for. Given his own predicament, Gale decided to pull back to a spot among the trees. He hadn't been heard by the man, and he needed to know what was going on before rushing in without a weapon.

* * *

Under the cover of darkness, Katniss slipped out a small hole in the stack of boulders hiding her position. It wasn't the entrance that she'd come in, but rather a tunnel she'd created with her daylight hours. It was not quite opposite of the entrance, and so she was hopeful that it was off skew enough that the individual hunting her wouldn't see her leave. She crept as slowly and as quietly as possible, though the quiet wasn't quite necessary, given the noise of the water.

She didn't breathe a sigh of relief – well, almost relief – until she made it to the tree line. With a grim smile, she set off to the spot where the arrow's shot had come from. She wasn't going to wait around to find out what she was up against.

Slowly but steadily working her way there, she was caught off guard and panicked when a hand grabbed her mouth from behind. "Don't scream."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Gale whispered furiously to Katniss. For all her experience in the Games, you'd have thought that she'd have more smarts than to go traipsing up to a random spot without any idea who could capture or kill her.

"Rescuing you. You're welcome," was her dry reply. The fire in her eyes at being chastised was clear.

Breathing heavily through his mouth, Gale took a step back. It was then that he noticed blood on his arm. Since he wasn't bleeding, that could only mean, "Katniss, where are you hurt?" The concern in his eyes was real.

The question made her squirm. "I'm fine. I'll be fine. What's going on?"

"I don't know. My men and I were attacked. They didn't make it. I don't know how many are involved, though I can guess the man up there by the bushes is not on our side, given your shoulder. Do you have any weapons?"

Although frustrated that Katniss was the one to find him – how did it happen that the entire District 2 couldn't manage it, but one lone woman could? – he was pleased to see her. Her shoulder wasn't in good shape, though, and was actively bleeding. They needed to get her to a medic soon. Her pack contained the necessary elements to take on their known shooter, and so they hatched a plan.

* * *

Peeta and Haymitch had gotten to District 2 in a little under 14 hours. Calls and favors had been made, making the trip out substantially less than that taken by Katniss. Thus, they arrived in the light of the next day and he was itching to get right out to Katniss. Haymitch wanted them to strategize, of course, but Peeta was having none of it. She was out there, somewhere, and he was going to find her.

In the face of Peeta's clear resolve, they left upon arrival at District 2. They'd called ahead to make arrangements and speak with both the head of the search party and the head of the District. Now that it was clear there was an actual human attacker in the woods, the District would be involving all able-bodied to find the source of the risk and neutralize it. Although Peeta wanted them to get started immediately, the District wasn't in a position to mobilize and arm people that night. So, Katniss had spent the evening out there by herself.

Armed and ready, Peeta was searching with teams by the river when they came across the packs of what appeared to have been Gale's men. They were strewn about, having been picked over by the attacker. While not heartening, it did give the searchers a trail to start on. How the initial search team could have missed this was unknown.

It was in the light of the sun that Peeta saw the dark red on the boulder. Someone had been bleeding, and not a small amount. He was never the tracker that Katniss was, but his experience in and since the 74th had taught him enough to follow an obvious trail. He came upon them first.

* * *

Gale was tending to Katniss' injuries. In the scuffle with the attacker, she'd been hit with a stone the size of a large man's hand. Her shoulder looked bad, needing re-bandaging, and she was delirious from either pain or the fever that had started in. She was babbling.

"Peeta, it's always been you. I love you more than life. Don't leave, please. Please…"

Awesome. He's the one here, working to save her ass, and all she could think of was Peeta. Although he'd let go of the hope of them ever being together quite some time ago, it still rankled that the baker had taken her heart.

"What the hell is going on here?"

* * *

He was seeing red. He heard her tell Gale that she loved him more than life. She begged him not to leave. He wasn't going to walk from this. He'd come too far for her, fought too long against the demons the Capitol had put in his head to walk away from the woman he loved and who he knew loved him. She may love Gale, but Peeta knew she loved him, too and he wasn't letting go without a fight.

When Gale turned around, he lost control and launched at him. "You take advantage of her? She's injured and you're trying to scare her into being with you by the threat of leaving?"

Gale was clearly injured, too, but he put up a good fight. They were rolling in the dirt, Gale yelling at him that he'd "Lost his damn mind again," when Haymitch pulled them apart. Peeta gave one derisive glance to Gale and dropped to Katniss. "I'm here, Katniss. You're safe." She smiled that beautiful, full smile, and passed out from the loss of blood.

* * *

"So, are we going to talk about you going crazy back there?" Gale approached Peeta in the hospital carefully, unsure of his reception.

"Nothing to talk about. You were scaring her by threatening to leave her."

"For the Good Lord's sake, I was not." Gale's patience was lost. "She thought I was _you_ , you idiot. She was telling _you_ that she loved you more than life and not to leave her. Seriously, the thanks I get for keeping that woman alive just so she can go running into your arms, _again_."

Peeta stared at him in shock. Gale was so clearly unimpressed by the whole turn of events that Peeta did not doubt his words. Katniss had been scared, but not because she thought she'd lose Gale, but because she thought she'd lose him. A warmth spread throughout his chest and reached his face.

"Wipe that shit-eating grin off your face. This shouldn't be a surprise to you. She chose you ages ago. Only an idiot would question that."

Gale was right. In the moment when he'd seen Gale hovering over Katniss, he'd been thrown back into the cave in the arena, only it was as a spectator. He'd envisioned Katniss and Gale coming out of the 74th, not he and Katniss. It was a fear he'd held on to for too long, that if the Games had been different, that she would have chosen Gale. But, he should have known better. Katniss was slow to open up, but when she gave her heart, it was completely.

* * *

She woke to yellow flowers by her bed and Peeta's head asleep on her pillow. He was sitting in a chair by the hospital bed, but angled so that he was as close to her as possible. The huff of his breath was so comforting that she felt tears prick her eyes. She leaned over and kissed his forehead. He awoke, realized she was awake and gave her the most thorough, deepest kiss she'd ever had. It left them with hearts pounding.

"I love you."

"I love you, too"


End file.
